Allen & Unwin instituted the annual Iremonger Award for Writing on Public Issues in memory of the late John Iremonger, 1944-2002, long time publisher with the company. The award is for works of political, social and cultural commentary with contemporary Australian relevance. Prize winners receive cash, are guaranteed publication, receive royalties on sales, and are provided with editorial support to develop the proposal to finished manuscript.
Brendan Gleeson was the inaugural winner in 2004 for 'Australian Heartlands'. Other winners included Bob Burton for 'Inside Spin' (2005), Nic Frances and Maryrose Cuskelly for 'The End of Charity' (2006) and Irfan Yusuf for 'Once Were Radicals' (2007). The final winner, in 2008, was Stephen Gray for ‘A Sorry State of Affairs’.
The award was discontinued in 2010 because the publishers believed the entries received in 2009 were not of a suitable calibre.
Source: http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=441 Sighted: 10/12/2013.
Once Were Radicals
Crows Nest
:
Allen and Unwin
,
2009
Z1583986
2009
single work
autobiography
humour
'What happens when a nice Muslim Australian boy considers joining the jihad in Afghanistan? Irfan Yusuf grew up in John Winston Howard's electorate in the leafy suburbs of Sydney. He should have been thinking about girls and cars, but instead became convinced he should die for a Muslim cause. And in the process he discovered he couldn't learn the Koran from boofy-headed blokes brandishing sticks, and he couldn't quite stomach extra-halal meat killed on an uncle's farm.Once Were Radicals is a hilarious, irreverent memoir of cultural confusions, community politics and outright mischief making - with a deeper message. (Publisher's blurb)
